US: Explosive devices sent to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama

Explosive devices were sent to former US President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the US Secret Service has said.

The devices were discovered during the routine mail screening processes for all mail sent to former US officials.

According to a statement from the US Secret Service, the package addressed to Mrs Clinton was recovered late on Tuesday and the item addressed to Barack Obama was intercepted in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The statement continued: “Both packages were intercepted prior to being delivered to their intended location. The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them.”

The FBI in New York said they were aware of the suspected packages and their Joint Terrorism Task force is aiding in the investigation.

Early reports that a third package was addressed to the White House were incorrect.

The two packages were discovered two days after a pipe bomb was found at the New York home of billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who is a frequent target of the far right and conspiracy theorists for his outspoken support of liberal causes.

The Time Warner building in New York was also evacuated after a suspicious package was discovered. CNN, which is located in the same building, cut to commercials and evacuated its newsroom over the threat and CNN president Jeff Zucker said the broadcaster would now conduct an extensive search of all of its buildings worldwide “out of a complete abundance of caution”.